Preview: Strawberry Perfection
by Heart of PureSilver
Summary: Possible full story. Yaoi. Sesshomaru; a cursed demon wishing to retrieve what he lost. Ichigo; a human given the ability to protect the living and dead, suffering from the burdens placed upon him. When the two meet, they may never be the same again. Can they learn to look past their desires and see what really matters? Pairings: Sesshomaru/Ichigo, Koga/Orihime


Screams echoed across the sky, drowning out in the roaring blaze that now rose from the village. A male stood atop a cliff, watching the houses burn. He was strongly built and was fairly tall; he looked no older than twenty. His pristine silver-white hair flowed gracefully down his back, reaching past his knees in length. Two pairs of maroon stripes marked his cheeks and wrist, a blue crescent moon centered in the middle of his forehead. His fair skin only added to his elegant appearance. He was dressed regally like a feudal lord. He wore a white kimono with cherry blossom flowers encircled by hexagons; a pattern that was on his collar and sleeves. His right shoulder was covered with a long fluffy boa that was long enough to brush the ground. Armor protected his chest and back, a spiked pauldron going over his left shoulder. A yellow and blue sash was tied around his waist, pinning two swords to his hip. His hakamas were gathered at his ankles to have a ballooning effect, their ends tucked firmly into blue-black boots. Golden eyes glared coldly at the blaze, the flickering light of the fires giving him an almost ethereal glow.

"Uh, Lord Sesshomaru?" his impish vassal precariously asked. "I understand that you hate humans, with Rin being the exception, but was it really necessary to level an entire village?"

"Are you questioning my judgment, Jaken?" Sesshomaru replied in a smooth but dark voice, not even sparing a glance at the imp demon.

Jaken gulped and quickly backed away, muttering apologies and berating his own insecurities about his master. The stench of burning corpses permeated the smoke that rose from the village, but a certain smell was out of place among the conflicting scents; the smell of salt from tears.

"So…a survivor," Sesshomaru mused as he leapt off the cliff to find the source.

He thought he had killed every last worthless human in the village. The fools had made the mistake of defying him and he dealt the ultimate punishment to them; death. He was the Demon Lord of the Western Lands, the eldest—and in his mind, the only—son of the great dog demon, InuTaisho. He had to set an example to anyone else who dared to defy him. Razing a human village was no trouble for him at all and was done within minutes. He could very easily do the same to any demons that defied him.

He strode through the wreckage with grace a choice few possessed. He was the very definition of an "angel of death". His very form seemed to be ignored by the flaming carnage as he stepped on rotting bodies and burned wood. Using his superior sense of smell, he was able to pinpoint the scent of tears easily. He took out one of his swords, Tokijin, charging the blade with demonic energy, intending to blast away what remained of the village. An almost inaudible swish in the air of an arrow being shot from a bow sounded out. The arrow bounced off the blade, cleansing the stored demonic energy. Sesshomaru redirected his gaze to the one who shot the arrow. She was an elderly priestess, her face still shining from tears. Her face was wrinkled, but creased in determination and hatred. Sesshomaru dropped his Tokijin and turned to look at the miko.

"Wretched yokai!" she yelled. "Why did you do this!?"

"This Sesshomaru doesn't heed humans," Sesshomaru countered. "Why bother wasting my time explaining myself to the likes of you?"

"You killed everyone!" she screamed, fresh tears pouring down her face. "Every man, woman, and child; ruthlessly slaughtered! Those people were innocent, yet you butchered every single one of them! Have you no compassion or love for the lives of others!?"

Sesshomaru scoffed before closing his eyes. He never understood humans and their pathetic ways. They were the scum of existence, not worthy to breathe the same air as demons such as him. Rin was the one exception; she was special. Even though he took her in as his ward, he still hated humans to his very core. The miko shot another arrow, which Sesshomaru easily dodged. The next second, he punctured the miko's chest with his claws.

"You don't deserve the honor of a swift death, wench," Sesshomaru said, his eyes bleeding red. "The poison from my claws will slowly burn through your entrails. Spend the last few moments of your life in agony."

"You don't deserve such glory as a demon…" the miko coughed, splattering blood on the dog demon's face. Her hand began glowing pink as she placed it on his chest, right over his heart. "Insolent child of the Dog General, become what you hate the most. To love and be loved in return by the very thing you despise…and then let that love be callously taken away from you, just as you took the lives of the humans here today. Know my curse, you wretched boy…"

A blast of pink light erupted between the two, sending both people flying. Sesshomaru landed on his feet before falling to his knees. Liquid fire ran through his veins as he used his arm to support his body. He squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden torture. It was far worse than being on the receiving end of Inuyasha's Wind Scar. He was no stranger to pain; having your arm cut off and multiple run-ins with death's door over the course of four centuries would do that to you. Yet this stung tremendously, hurting him with every breath he took in. He could feel his body trembling as his once sharp senses suddenly dulled. The sharp twinge slowly ebbed away into a dull throb before dissipating completely.

When the pain stopped, he precariously opened his eyes. He jolted at what he saw. He moved his arm closer to his face, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. He stared in horror at his hand. It no longer had claws or his trademark maroon stripes and it was now a darker skin tone than before. He carefully took a strand of his hair and stared at it. He immediately let go as if he was burned by touching it. The pristine silver-white had darkened into a midnight black. He carefully took out his other sword, Tenseiga, and looked at his reflection. Not two seconds after he looked at his face, he dropped the sword. The demonic markings were gone, his ears were round, and big bright sapphire-blue eyes replaced his golden ones.

He was human.

The realization sent the demon-turned-human reeling. Emotions strengthened by his sudden transformation sucker-punched his psyche. As a demon, feelings were only a burden to him, so he had abandoned them. Only now did they all come back with a vengeance after centuries of being repressed. Shock, confusion, rage, embarrassment, and fear flooded his being, causing his mind to overload from the plethora of strong emotions. These unknown sentiments that bombarded him were too much. The mental stress combined with the smell of smoke, sulfur, and blood finally triggered a reaction from him.

He gagged. His stomach churned painfully, causing him to quickly place his hand over his mouth as he felt bile rise in his throat. He eventually couldn't handle the sight or the smell of scorching cadavers. He keeled over to empty his stomach's contents onto the ground. The putrid acid splattered against the grass, tears streaming down his face from the burning in his throat. He dry heaved a few more times as he hung his head low, attempting to breathe while holding his protesting abdomen in a futile attempt to quell the nausea. His hair was strewn across the ground, coating it with dirt and vomit. He gagged again at the stench of his own stomach acid and nearly doubled over to dry heave again. It took a few minutes before he was able to recompose himself—somewhat.

He quickly grabbed Tenseiga from the ground and sheathed it before he stood up on shaking legs. He staggered over to the fallen body of the miko that had cursed him. He grabbed her neck and lifted her body into the air. Despite not having his demonic strength, his body still was stronger than a normal human's. However, the fear-inducing aura about him had almost faded completely from him. As a human, he looked so innocent and vulnerable compared to his former glory.

"What have you done to me?!" he snarled, which would have been more frightening if he was still a demon. "This Sesshomaru…"

"Is a human," the priestess finished, giving the proud man a triumphant smirk.

"Remove your petty curse this instant!" he demanded angrily.

He then blinked at his own voice. By Kami, he didn't even sound like himself anymore. The pitch was too high; so unnaturally high, it caused him to panic. His emotions were spiraling out of his control, causing him to lose his normally icy composure. The miko laughed wickedly, coughing up blood as she did. The liquid dripped down her chin onto the hand crushing her windpipe.

"Just remove it!? You truly _are_ just a child! If you want to be a demon again…you better get an attitude change!" she spat. "Only the love of a human…can save you from your torment! And…"

Sesshomaru glared at the miko as she looked down at him from her position.

"Know this," she said. "You will suffer alone with no one to turn to! You shall feel exactly how your brother felt when you left him to fend for himself!"

How could she have known about his half-brother? Sesshomaru grit his teeth as his grip on the miko's neck tightened. The woman made no move to resist. Instead, she only laughed harder.

"Kill me if you wish. It won't break the curse. Begone, _Lord_ Sesshomaru," she spat blood and saliva on his face at the word "lord" as if she had tasted poison. "This world will have one less heartless son of a bitch to worry about."

Sesshomaru snapped the crone's neck at what she said. That was pushing the limits of his patience. He'd be damned if he let his family honor be stained by the words of a lowly human. He dropped the body and it landed on the ground with a _thump_. He growled, grinding his teeth together in frustration. Gripping his fist tightly enough that it started shaking and blood poured from his nails puncturing his palm, he let out a cry of anger that echoed through the night. In his rage, he stomped heel-first on the dead woman's head. The skull cracked from the force and blood seeped out of the deformed appendage. Again and again, he continued to smash the head, coloring his boot and a bit of his pant leg crimson. He didn't care how stupid and pointless it was to mangle up a dead human's cranium. His rational thoughts were muddled up from the intense emotions that coursed through him; emotions that he had little to no control over. Panting from the rush of adrenaline, he fell to his knees, staining his white hakamas with the blood of the priestess. He placed his hand to his face, effectively smearing more blood across it.

How could he have let something like this happen? He was the Demon Lord of the West! Cursed by a pathetic human; his honor would forever be tarnished. He quickly ran through his predicament. He was cursed to be a human with no one to help him. Rin and Jaken were out of his reach and he would rather commit _seppuku_ than ask Inuyasha, that despicable half-breed, for help. He didn't need his brother's pity nor did he want it. Learning to love a human? He scoffed at the very idea. As if he, Sesshomaru, would lower himself to such a level.

"Curse it all…" he muttered aloud. "Damn that _wench_!"

* * *

About five hundred years later…

Near the outskirts of Karakura Town, a lone candy shop stood. It never gathered much attention, but there was more to this shop that met the eye. Within the dining room sat Kisuke Urahara, the shop's owner. He was calmly drinking his tea as he thought about the past two years.

He had helped the teenager Ichigo Kurosaki save his friend, Rukia Kuchiki, from being wrongly executed, in turn revealing a huge devious plot within the Soul Society's ranks. Three of the Soul Society's captains, Sosuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tousen, had defected and sided with the Hollows of Hueco Mundo. That led to the long wait for the Winter War. The battle raged between enemies and unlikely allies. The banished Vizoreds had joined the battle against Aizen's Arrancars, providing invaluable support. But in the end, even the greatest of the Soul Society's men fell easily once the Hogyoku awoke fully, giving Aizen immeasurable strength. Had Ichigo not sacrificed his powers in a last-ditch attack, the Final Getsuga Tensho, Aizen could easily have destroyed everything. The attack left Aizen weakened enough for him to be sealed away.

After a year and a half, then came the trouble with the humans with Hollow-like powers; the Fullbringers. Ichigo, overwhelmed with frustration at his inability to protect those important to him, offered to help the Fullbringers, who wanted to be rid of their powers and the only way was to give them to a Substitute Soul Reaper. It was all a ruse. The poor boy went through a lot of mental turmoil because of the Fullbringer, Shukuro Tsukishima, and his ability to modify people's memories of the past as well as his accomplice, a Substitute Soul Reaper named Kugo Ginjo. In the end, Ichigo was gifted with the powers of a Soul Reaper thanks to the combined reiatsu of the Captains and Lieutenants of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. He was able to combat Ginjo and kill him.

Nowadays, Ichigo was still attempting to manage high school with his Soul Reaper duties. He absentmindedly wondered how the orange-haired teen was doing at the moment.

On the other side of Karakura Town, a lone teenager was in his room. This was Ichigo Kurosaki, high school student and Substitute Soul Reaper. He was currently sitting at his desk, staring at a blank sheet of paper. Ichigo sweatdropped as pencil graphite snapped.

"_I don't get it!_" he mentally cried. "_I just don't get it! Who was the brilliant idiot who assigned a history course on Feudal Japan this next semester anyway!? And this stupid report is due tomorrow! The new teacher will have my ass if I don't get this done!_"

Ichigo frantically opened his history book, _A History of Feudal Japan: Humans and Demons, written by S. H. Kitsune,_ and began skimming over the pages. A lion plush hopped onto Ichigo's desk and pulled the book down so he could look Ichigo in the eyes.

"Hey, Ichigo!" the perverted Mod Soul, Kon, said. "If all else fails, you can just 'BS' it!"

"Get _out_!" Ichigo roared before throwing the toy out his open bedroom window. Ignoring the pained and annoyed shouts of Kon, Ichigo returned to his book. The topic was to write a general summary of what the student researched about Feudal Japan. It was easier said than done since Ichigo assumed it was mostly about warlords. How wrong he was; there was so much more to it than just warlords. He had slacked off on homework since he had just wanted some time to relax from his constant duties as a Soul Reaper. It was currently 10:45pm and the history report was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I don't even know if this thing is a credible source or not!" Ichigo groaned.

The seventeen-year-old sighed as he scratched his scalp. He picked up his pencil and began writing. Pencil graphite scratched against paper, drowning out the sound of the ticking clock. When he stopped writing he took hold of the paper and read it, since he wasn't really paying attention to how the report sounded while he wrote it.

_The Shikon no Tama, also called the Sacred Jewel or the Jewel of Four Souls, was created through the spirit of a powerful priestess, or miko, named Midoriko and the spirit of a demon, or yokai, that was created by the evil heart of a human who lusted after her._

Ichigo reread what he wrote. "What the hell?"

_After seven days and seven nights of fighting, the priestess used her spirit and bound it with the demon's, creating a jewel that burst from her chest. It is said Midoriko's soul still battled the souls of the demons that she was bound with inside the Jewel. For a time, the Sacred Jewel fell into the hands of countless demons, strengthening their powers, until it was given to a priestess for purification. However, that priestess met an untimely demise and took the Sacred Jewel with her to her grave. It was believed that the Sacred Jewel would never be seen again. However, fifty years after the priestess' death, the Sacred Jewel returned to Feudal Japan through the reincarnation of that same priestess._

Ichigo paused again. "This is really messed up…"

_The Jewel was shattered into hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of shards after a failed attempt to retrieve the Jewel from a demon. These shards scattered throughout Feudal Japan, each one containing the power of the original Jewel. The reincarnated priestess set out on a journey to collect the shards to prevent their power from falling into the hands of those who would abuse them. It is said that the priestess traveled along with a half-demon dog, or inu hanyo, a cursed Buddhist monk, also called a Buddhist priest or houshi, a demon slayer, or taijiya, and two demons to collect the shards. Many lives had been taken during this time through demon attacks, natural disasters, war, and famine. However, the most lives lost during this time was during the Reign of the Spider._

"Reign of the Spider?" Ichigo repeated, his curiosity peaked.

_A spider hanyo collected the majority of the Sacred Jewel and used its power along with its own deceitful ways to cause massive suffering to humans and demons alike. Through the teamwork of the priestess' group, the humans and demons were able to defeat the spider hanyo. Peace was once again restored to the land and the final wish made upon the Sacred Jewel banished it from existence, freeing the souls within._

Ichigo put down his pencil and looked at the clock. It was well past midnight. He drummed his fingers as he looked at the title of the next section of the book. Something about demons and mating, something he really didn't care too much about.

"Screw it," he said. "I'm going to bed…"

Ichigo collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to take off his school uniform. The teenager fell asleep almost instantly. Little did he know that his fate would change drastically within the next few months.

* * *

**Hey, peeps! Here I go again with yet ANOTHER plot-bunny. I must say, I am surprised with myself that I did this. Now, I want you people to know something before you start complaining to me.**

**First, this is fanfiction. I can ignore canon if I so wish. Secondly, I wanted to try something different. I was getting tired of the more commonly used Yaoi pairings in crossovers. A very good example is Harry Potter. Lastly, if I get any haters or flamers, I will find a way to sign you up for reading lessons since you cannot read and see that it says "Yaoi" and you have nothing better to do than to hate/flame on a story simply _because_ it is "Yaoi".  
**

**To be honest, this has been in the works for well over a year now. Regrettably, I've only got five completed chapters (including this one) and part of the sixth done due to various factors, like laziness and schoolwork. It was really only supposed to be a story for my own selfish fangirlish purposes to read. But after waiting and waiting and still no one did this pairing, I finally decided to brave myself and put this up. So HA-HA! I am the creator of the original Sess/Ichi Yaoi crack pairing!  
**

**But it's only a preview. I'm leaving its fate up to you readers. I have no problem with working on it because I actually WANT to finish it. But do YOU want me to finish it? Do you **_**want**_** to read it? Review and tell me what you think.  
**

**By the way, I DO NOT OWN InuYahsa or BLEACH! They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Tite Kubo. Why do I bother with disclaimers anymore?**


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